A wonderful songwriter.
Kevin Drew
Broken Social Scene
Singer, songwriter, guitarist Darren Roy Clarke writes songs that map the backroads of the heart. Blending delicate roots, confessional country, and heartbreak folk, his music reveals a road-worn journey of the soul. Darren spins introspective vignettes in his distinctive tenor voice; accompanying himself with expressive, exploratory guitar that is as integral to these tales as his lyrics.
Hailing from the hidden rural musical hotbed of Warkworth, ON, Darren has been gaining recognition as a “musician’s musician,” garnering attention and sharing stages with a host of Canadian songwriters and performers.
“Darren Roy Clarke gets me in the feels… When I hear him, no matter where I am, I am home.”
Will McGuirk
slowcity.ca
Darren’s new album, Dirty Face and a Broken Screen, expands on the intimacy of his live sound with featured guest performances from Travis Good of The Sadies (acoustic/electric guitars, banjo), Kerri Ough of Good Lovelies (vocals), Michael Boguski of Blue Rodeo (piano), Melissa Payne (fiddle/vocals), Ryan Webber of the Webber Brothers (bass), and Steve Dagg (drums). Produced by multi-instrumentalist James McKenty, the recording balances the raw emotion of the material with the warmth of its collaborative performances.
Highlights include the first three singles from the album: the haunting title track duet with Good Lovelies Kerri Ough, the locomotive rhythm guitar and travel-weary vocal of “Westward,” and the intimately yearning guitar, piano, and vocal interplay of “Old Winding Road.” Other standouts include the wistful Laurel Canyon sound of “Come On, Sun,” and the delicate guitar interplay of “Kay Oh Kay.”
It is the songwriting that pull these performers and performances together, with haunting lyrics that betray the patched soles – and soul – of emotional miles travelled.
It’s a journey that calls out for repeated listenings.